Grandfather, 73, wins £20,000 police pay out after car attack

An elderly motorist has been handed an out-of court settlement âin excess of Â£20,000â after police in Wales stopped him and smashed his 4×4âs windows.

A police officer smashes Mr Whatley’s windows (Picture: YouTube)

Robert Whatley, 73, received the pay-out after he took legal action over the destructive outcome of a 17-minute pursuit by officers, who were later cleared of any wrongdoing.

The retired businessman had already received more than £8,000 for the damage meted out to his Range Rover.

But now police have to pay him substantially more âon financial groundsâ after he claimed for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr Whatley had been spotted driving without a seatbelt and was pursued by police for several miles along country roads.When the grandfather eventually pulled over, one of the officers ran up to his vehicle and started smashing the driverâs door window with a baton.Another policeman then leapt on to the bonnet and kicked in one side of the 4×4âs windscreen.A key piece in Mr Whatleyâs submission was a copy of the police video of the 2009 incident between Cwmbran and Usk in Wales, which showed the attack on the vehicle, followed by the driver being dragged out of it.The Independent Police Complaints Commission later supervised an investigation into the incident.

But a disciplinary panel made up of officers from another force cleared the two Gwent officers, whose identity was not revealed. It found their actions were justified given the circumstances.

Gwent deputy chief constable Jeff Farrar said: âGwent Police have not accepted any liability in this matter. However, contesting the matter further would have incurred substantial legal costs if the case had gone to court.â